Warm Feet???

What is out there in the market place that is good for
keeping your feet warm in the glider? I am planning to
attend the Marfa Spring Wave Camp for the third time
and I would really like to avoid the cold feet.

Randy

www.tulsasoaring.com

On Mar 2, 3:02�pm, Randy wrote:
What is out there in the market place that is good for
keeping your feet warm in the glider? I am planning to
attend the Marfa Spring Wave Camp for the third time
and I would really like to avoid the cold feet.

Randy

www.tulsasoaring.com

www.hotronic.com stick them puppies in some Ugg boots and yur tooties
will be toastie all day....

You may need additional batteries, but several motorcycle accessories
dealers sell electric footwarmers (vests, pants, and gloves too) and
you can get adjustable thermostats for them. If you don't want to go
into a motorcycle dealer, you can see: Riders Warehouse http://
aerostitch.com or Whitehorse Press http://whitehorsegear.com

Sporting goods stores should have electric socks ("D" Batteries) but
there is no way to regulate the temperature and mine get kinda hot.

Also REI sells something you can put under your toes which is suppose
to keep your feet warm.

On Mar 2, 3:02*pm, Randy wrote:
What is out there in the market place that is good for
keeping your feet warm in the glider? I am planning to
attend the Marfa Spring Wave Camp for the third time
and I would really like to avoid the cold feet.

Randy

www.tulsasoaring.com

On Mar 2, 6:02*pm, Randy wrote:
What is out there in the market place that is good for
keeping your feet warm in the glider? I am planning to
attend the Marfa Spring Wave Camp for the third time
and I would really like to avoid the cold feet.

Randy

www.tulsasoaring.com

Hi Randy,

Depends on how much you want to spend and your appetite for gadgets:

- Low Tech: Go to eBay and search for Moon Boots. We all wore
these at Blairstown in the 1980s for winter ridge flying. Goofy
looking as sin, but warm and cozy. The thick soles keep the bottoms
of your feet from losing heat to the metal rudder pedals, and the soft
insulation on rest of the foot keeps them all toasty.

- Medium Tech: Get some good Sorrel or Columbia or other winter
boots and stick some of the chemical boot warmers sold at hunting and
ski stores. Heat Treat Toe Warmers for instance: http://www.rei.com/product/405012

- Hi Tech: Adapt any good motorcycle boot warmers and wire into a
separate battery. I made up a set for myself, but I honestly found
that I don't use them much as I don't REALLY enjoy long flights in the
winter, and either of the firest two methods are good enough. These
reaquire a little more fiddling to get everything set up right.
http://www.gerbing.com/Products/socks.html

Good luck.

Erik Mann
LS8-18 P3

Papa3 wrote:

and I would really like to avoid the cold feet.

Depends on how much you want to spend and your appetite for gadgets:

- Low Tech: Go to eBay and search for Moon Boots. We all wore
these at Blairstown in the 1980s for winter ridge flying. Goofy
looking as sin, but warm and cozy. The thick soles keep the bottoms
of your feet from losing heat to the metal rudder pedals, and the soft
insulation on rest of the foot keeps them all toasty.

Be sure they fit into the glider without interference. I couldn't make
them work in my glider.

- Medium Tech: Get some good Sorrel or Columbia or other winter
boots

Same problem with insulated boots - too big to fit, and some seemed kind
of stiff. Very dependent on your foot size and specific glider!

and stick some of the chemical boot warmers sold at hunting and
ski stores. Heat Treat Toe Warmers for instance: http://www.rei.com/product/405012

I found this kind of thing worked OK at 18,000' in mittens, but not in
boots. They require oxygen to work, and I don't think enough air could
get to them inside a boot at high altitudes.

- Hi Tech: Adapt any good motorcycle boot warmers and wire into a
separate battery. I made up a set for myself, but I honestly found
that I don't use them much as I don't REALLY enjoy long flights in the
winter, and either of the first two methods are good enough. These
require a little more fiddling to get everything set up right.
http://www.gerbing.com/Products/socks.html

The best solution I found was a set of cheap snowmobile style coveralls
from Sportsmans Guide (cheap ones are softer and lighter - more
comfortable in a glider) and three pairs of socks on my feet: one
regular "street" pair and two pair of insulating thick ski socks, inside
the cheapest Walmart trainers I could find (I like the ones with velcro
closures). Of course, the shoes were a couple sizes bigger than my
normal size, but they still fit into the glider. I had to remove the
insole to make enough room for the socks.

The coveralls were the key, however, as I needed my torso and legs warm
enough to get some blood to my feet. The snowsuit (WX2-102777 Guide
Gear® 1 - Pc. Snowsuit, Black / Red) is about $50.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

* Updated! "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* New Jan '08 - sections on Mode S, TPAS, ADS-B, Flarm, more

* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Eric Greenwell wrote:
Papa3 wrote:


and stick some of the chemical boot warmers sold at hunting and
ski stores. Heat Treat Toe Warmers for instance:
http://www.rei.com/product/405012

I found this kind of thing worked OK at 18,000' in mittens, but not in
boots. They require oxygen to work, and I don't think enough air could
get to them inside a boot at high altitudes.


At ground level, these things sometimes put out almost no heat, and
other times get so hot that they are painful to touch. I don't think I
would want to put them anyplace that I couldn't access during flight.

Medium Tech: Get some good Sorrel or Columbia or other winter
boots and stick some of the chemical boot warmers sold at hunting and
ski stores. Heat Treat Toe Warmers for instance: http://www.rei.com/product/405012

You could do like a certain USAF Test Pilot did on a wave sortie and
drop some of these inside you pressure suit (100% O2 environment).
Apparently they get your feet REALLY warm - like burned badly enough
to be laid up for a while. Guess he skipped thermochemistry......

Don't loose sight of the basics. Keeping your head warm, will help
your feet. Keep your legs warm too. I wear heavy fleece pants that
zip down the side so I can unzip them (a bit) if I get too warm (or
have to pee). Remember, that as your body core cools, your peripheral
circulations is reduced which promotes cold tootsies. If you get cold
soaked on the way up (i.e. pee a lot) don't forget to hydrate on the
way down (very good article in Soaring, Dec 2007, Dan Johnson)

Chemical warmers will work IF your shoes/boots are getting O2. So
they will tend to work better on the top for your foot than the bottom
(where you are pressing on the rudder pedals all day). I have put them
in the tops of my running shoes while soaring and they help, but not
perfect.

Here is a cheep source for bulk quantities of them (Disclosu This
is a plug for my next door neighbor's company)
http://industrialsavings.com/Merchan...warmingpack s

Another option is vapor barrier socks. The simplest implementation is
to put a plastic grocery bag between two layers of socks. Cheap and
effective. You just have to live with the crinkling sound as you walk
around before the flight g. If you want a more polished approach
there are commercially available products.
http://www.warmlite.com/vb_shirt.htm

Craig

"Greg Arnold" wrote in message
:

Eric Greenwell wrote:
Papa3 wrote:


and stick some of the chemical boot warmers sold at hunting and
ski stores. Heat Treat Toe Warmers for instance:
http://www.rei.com/product/405012

I found this kind of thing worked OK at 18,000' in mittens, but not in
boots. They require oxygen to work, and I don't think enough air could
get to them inside a boot at high altitudes.


At ground level, these things sometimes put out almost no heat, and
other times get so hot that they are painful to touch. I don't think I
would want to put them anyplace that I couldn't access during flight.


Yep, tried that _once_ myself. Got so hot that I had to land. Won't do
that again!!!!

Larry